by Jessica Ames
“Don’t look at me like that, baby. It’s okay. I deserve it. I did something that could affect the whole club and I did it without thinking. At least they didn’t ask for my patch.”
He’s joking, but my stomach twists.
I tilt my head to look up at the ceiling and he brings my gaze back to him with gentle fingers on the side of my face.
“Baby, this isn’t your problem to worry about. I fucked up, now I have to pay the price of that fuck up. Then everything will be fine.”
“You fucked up trying to protect me and my family.”
“And if I was given the choice again, I’d do the same thing. Those women in there,” he points towards the common room, “deserve to be safe. You deserve to be safe.”
I tap my phone against my hand as my eyes crawl over his face, seeking the truth of his words. Then I type, “Not at the cost of you.”
“Everything I do is to protect you.”
I sigh. “This is what your club is worried about, Dane. That your first response will always be loyalty to me.”
“Babe, other men have wives, old ladies, they don’t suddenly stop being good brothers.”
“Not everyone has an old lady from another club, though.”
He considers me. “Do you want to end this?”
I shake my head immediately. That’s the last thing I want.
“Then what’s the option here?” He kisses my mouth, his lips softly brushing over mine. “I want you. I didn’t lie when I told you that and I wasn’t pushed into making you mine officially either. If the situation had been different, I might have waited for all this shit with the Reapers to blow over, but the outcome still would have been the same. You on my bike and in my bed, my property patch on your back. No one will stop that happening, you understand?”
I nod and this time I kiss him, letting everything I feel bleed through that gesture. I need him to know I’m behind him a hundred percent, that I’ll back whatever play he makes now and in the future.
“You’re mine, Mackenzie. You were mine the moment you let me have you that first time, and I’m not giving you up, but I can balance both—my loyalty to you and my loyalty to my brothers. Others do it without a problem. We’ll be the same.”
I nibble at my bottom lip as I consider him. “And if it comes down to a situation where our clubs are pitted against each other?”
“Why worry about something that is never going to happen?”
He’s right. My thoughts scatter as he presses his pelvis into mine, letting me feel how hard he is beneath the denim of his jeans. My heart swells, knowing I can have this effect on this big, brawny man.
“Do you see what you do to me, baby?” He puts his nose to my neck and moves along the column of my throat. I tilt my head to the side to give him better access as his hand cups me through my jeans.
“This belongs to me,” he tells me, rubbing me between my legs.
I nod emphatically, willing to give him any part of me he wants.
“Now that everyone knows about us, we don’t need to sneak around any longer,” he says a little slyly.
A smile graces my lips.
“Come to bed with me, Mackenzie Harlow.”
My smile morphs into a grin and between my legs throbs with anticipation.
“Any time,” I mouth at him.
He scoops me into his arms and I gasp, grabbing for his neck as he settles me in his grip. Then he carries me towards the stairs. I grin down at my guy, and I see the hunger, the need shining back at me. It reflects my own needs, because I want this man with every inch of my being. I love him, even if neither of us have said the words yet. I love him and I need him in my life.
He carries me into his room, kicking the door shut with a booted foot. He places me on the bed and climbs on top of me, our mouths seeking each other. The feel of his weight on me is driving me wild and when he pushes up my top to reveal my breasts, I can barely draw air.
“You’re mine,” he tells me.
Then he fucks me senseless for the next hour, until my pussy is sore and deliciously used.
Chapter Sixteen
Beth turns thirty-one the next day. If we had been back in Kingsley and everything normal, we would have given her a huge celebration. Stuck in the Devils’ clubhouse, the party is a little lower key.
Harper and Ella, Dax’s old lady, help us get a cake and some snacks and we’re given full run of whatever we want to drink, but the common room is still full of patched members, plus Charlie, Rabbit, King and Lucas, and a few club girls who are draped over the single guys—Lola, I notice, among them.
I ignore her.
I’m sitting with the girls, sandwiched between Chloe, who recently became Weed’s old lady, and my sister, Sofia. Beth is putting a brave face on the fact Logan isn’t here, but I can tell it’s bothering her.
I understand her pain. I haven’t seen Dane since our conversation last night, and already I miss him. Stupid? Probably, but the man has become a vital part of me, one I’m not keen on being parted from. I didn’t go to Dane last night, although I wanted to, but I don’t want to push him either. However, I can’t help but worry if he’s received his punishment yet, or when that will be. I hate that he has to go through that because of me.
I cast a glance at my sister-in-law, who is looking down. I want to ask Beth if she’s okay, but I don’t want to draw attention to the fact she’s clearly not.
“Hey, girlies.” Harper steps over to the table, a grin splitting her face. “I’ve got a little surprise for the birthday girl.”
Beth’s brow dips. “You’ve already done so much.”
“Yeah, this is going to beat everything else.”
She turns to the doors of the common room and tugs them open. My brother steps over the threshold, his eyes automatically seeking out his wife. He stops on Beth and that hardness in his expression, a hardness I’ve never seen so deeply ingrained before, disappears.
Beth’s sharp intake of breath is followed by a jostling to get up from the table. She nearly topples Sofia’s drink over Jamie, but she manages to right it before any damage is done.
Then she’s in Logan’s arms and they’re kissing like their lives depend on it. I look away. I do not need that embedded in my brain.
After a couple of moments, I risk a glance at my brother, who is no longer devouring my sister-in-law’s mouth, but holding her against him, his fingers collaring the back of her neck. Logan looks whole, healthy and unharmed. This gives me some relief for the men we left behind to while away our days in safety while they’re on the front line, fighting the Reapers.
“What are you doing here?” Beth demands, pulling back from him and sounding more than a little breathless.
Logan tucks a strand of her hair behind her ears, his eyes taking in every inch of her face. “Did you think I’d miss your birthday?”
“You came on your own?” There’s a note of chastisement in her voice.
“No. Dean’s here too. He’s waiting outside. I guess he didn’t want to ruin your birthday surprise.”
“Dean’s here?” Liv’s voice sounds a little higher than usual. She pushes up from the table, jostling her son as she does.
“He’s just outside, darlin’.”
She makes a beeline for the doors and as soon as she disappears through them, my eyes snap back to Logan as he’s bombarded with questions from the other women about their old men. Eventually, he holds his hands up and calls for silence. The prospects and Charlie, I notice, have made their way over too, no doubt desperate for news.
“We’ve been fighting the Reapers, trying to bring down their club. It’s not been easy.” His gaze seeks out my other sister-in-law, Piper. “Jem was hurt in an assault on their compound.” When she gasps, he holds his hands up. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, but him and Wade were shot at riding back from Lace. Jem laid his bike down and is scuffed up, but he’ll recover. Everyone else is fine.”
“Fuck,” Paige mutters. “They’re bot
h okay?”
“Yeah,” he assures them. “A few scratches, Jem busted his ribs pretty good, but everyone will recover.”
Piper looks sick. I don’t blame her. My stomach is doing a violent somersault even thinking about my brother being hurt. Wade too.
I can feel the reality of the situation weighing down on my shoulders. How can we even think about having this party when our brothers, our family, are out there getting hurt?
I’ve been so focused on me and Dane I never stopped to consider how my brothers were.
Dane…
Shit.
As if thinking about him conjured him, he pushes into the common room, his eyes taking in my brother before sliding to me.
I gasp.
I can’t help it. His face is a mass of bruises and there’s a cut above his eyes. He’s holding himself like he’s in pain and trying not to show it. Did they give out the punishment last night? Is that why he didn’t want me to come to him?
Dane gives me a half-smile before returning his gaze to Logan and I see the determination in his expression, a determination to tell my brother what’s going on between us. My heart starts to canter in my chest and I feel a little nauseous.
Oh… shit.
I know Dane will speak to my brother. He’ll want to share the news before anyone else beats him to the punch. I have to admit, it doesn’t fill me with warm fuzzy feelings. Maybe I should speak to Logan first. He’s less likely to hit the roof at me, right?
I nibble at my bottom lip as I watch my man and my brother greet each other, tension rippling through me. I can’t watch this. It’s going to be a train wreck.
But Dane doesn’t deliver any surprises. He just moves over to the bar to join Ax and Foz.
I let out a sigh of relief, but it’ll be short-lived. This will come to a head, and when it does…
I don’t know what will happen.
I suspect Logan will be angry I’ve been claimed by another brother from a different club. I suspect it because there’s a lot of baggage that comes with that claim and because so far no one has been happy for us.
For now, I let that thought dissipate and watch my sister-in-law dancing with my brother. Logan isn’t much of a dancer. His hips are too stiff and honestly, I’m not sure he’s enjoying a single moment of swaying back and forth with Beth, but he can’t deny her anything.
“Nine months without drinking would drive me to drink,” Jamie mutters.
My gaze gravitates to the small baby bump spilling over the top of Beth’s jeans.
“Nine months without you drinking would drive us all to drink,” Sofia fires back with a smile that takes the sting out of her words.
She’s not wrong, though. Jamie’s already halfway to smashed. It feels good to banter, to talk like the old days before we were shipped off to another club for our own safety.
My eyes gravitate towards Dane and when he shifts his attention from his brothers and locks his gaze on me, my neck feels warm and it takes everything I have not to pant. Dane looks amazing today in his tightly fitted jeans, a thick Henley and his kutte over the top. Leather bands adorn both wrists and he has rings on almost every finger of his right hand.
Yeah, this man has the ability to set my underwear on fire, and right now that’s precisely what he’s doing.
I sign, “I need to use the bathroom,” to my sister, who moves her chair out of the way, so I can make my escape.
I shove my way through the doors and out into the corridor, then I sag against the wall. What the hell are we going to do here? I can’t give him up. I won’t, but us being together will cause problems. He’s already beat to hell.
I let my eyes close, squeezing them tightly as if it can keep the world around me out, but it doesn’t.
“Mackenzie…”
I pop my eyes open at the sound of his voice and I’m filled with a mix of relief and fear we might get caught, especially since I have no idea where Liv and Dean went. Maybe up to her room for privacy, at least that’s what I’m hoping.
I pull my phone out and type, “You’re hurt.”
He waves this off. “It’s just bruising. It’ll heal in time.”
I drop my head to his chest, holding the lapels of his kutte.
Then I type on my phone, “You shouldn’t be out here.”
“Why?”
There’s a pause as I type before I hit play. “You know why. My brother is in there.”
He snorts. “Do you think he doesn’t know what’s going on between us already? You have prospects and a patched member here, who I’m sure feedback everything that happens with you girls.”
That revelation makes my heart stop. I glare at him before I swipe my fingers over my phone screen and hit play again.
“Why would you tell me that? Now, I’m panicking.”
His fingers go to my cheek, caressing. “Why, baby?”
“Because my brother isn’t going to like the fact we’re together.”
“Probably not, but do you really care what anyone else thinks?”
I really don’t. Not deep down. They either get on-board with me and Dane or they can ship off. I love him. Not that I’ve told him this, but I do. He’s my everything and I won’t give that up, not even for my family.
“Do you think he knows then?”
“Well, he didn’t slug me in the face when I came into the room, so who knows. Either way, he’ll know before he leaves. I won’t keep you a secret.”
While this warms me, it also has icy shards attacking my insides.
“I don’t want you and my brother to fight, especially not while you’re already hurt.”
He kisses my nose. “It won’t come to that, baby. I’ve known your brother a long time. I know how Logan ticks. He’ll be upset, but he’ll get over it. Trust me to sort this out.”
I nod, indicating I do. I just don’t trust Logan’s reaction.
Although of my three brothers Logan’s the least likely to murder Dane. He’s always had a good control of his temper. It’s why he makes such a good Sergeant-at-Arms. He’s rational, he’s not hot-headed, unlike Jem, and he’s a good problem solver. He’s always my go-to if I’m having problems I need fixing. Not that I try to bother any of my brothers with my shit, but sometimes it can’t be helped.
“I hope you’re right.”
He brushes his mouth over mine. “I’m always right.”
I snort, but I hope on this occasion his own hype is deserved. The last thing I want is for my… boyfriend? Old man? To throw down against my brother.
“Let me talk to Logan first.”
“Baby… no.”
“Please, Dane. I owe him that much.”
He doesn’t look happy about this, but he nods. “Fine, but if he upsets you…”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not scared of my brother and I can take care of myself.” I type, “But thank you for caring.”
His mouth meets mine. “Of course I care. You’re mine.”
I’m his.
But that also means he’s mine too.
I mouth ‘mine’ at him and he grins.
Chapter Seventeen
Despite Dane’s reassurance and my own, I feel nervous approaching my brother. I’m crossing everything that Beth hasn’t beaten me to it and spilt my secrets, but I don’t think she would do that.
They’re sitting together in the corner of the common room when I return after speaking to Dane. Truthfully, I’m surprised they haven’t headed straight upstairs—not that I want to think about that.
Yuck.
I approach the table and Logan’s eyes come to me. “Where’d you go? I wanted to say hello and you’d vanished.”
“I had something to do,” I sign. Then nervously, I ask, “Do you have a moment?”
I feel terrible, dragging him away from Beth when they’ve only just reunited and his time will probably be limited here, but I need to do this. Clearly, Beth agrees because she gives me a warm smile and a nod of encouragement.
I wi
pe my sweaty palms on the tops of my jeans and try to get moisture into my mouth as I lead him out into the corridor. This really is not the ideal place to do this, but what choice do I have? Everyone here knows about me and Dane—it’s bound to come out.
“What’s going on, Kenz?” my brother asks as I turn to face him, my nerves tingling.
“I need to tell you something before you hear it anywhere else.”
His brow draws together. “Tell me what?”
I swallow hard and let all my fear drain away. This is my big brother—the man who has always protected me and kept me safe. He’s not going to hurt me.
“Me and Dane… we’re together.” I sign the last part quickly. Just like ripping off a Band-Aid, right?
Logan stares at me for a whole minute before he says, “What?”
“We’re together.”
There’s a beat of silence while he takes this in then his face contorts as he growls out, “Did that fucker take advantage of you while you’ve been staying here?”
I blink then shake my head. That’s the last thing I expected him to say, but realistically, it should have been the first. Of course Logan would consider foul play.
“Absolutely not,” I sign, my words sharp as I jolt my hands. What kind of man does he think Dane is? I’m aggrieved on his behalf.
“But he’s touched you—”
He starts to move and I place my hands on his chest, stopping him from tearing after Dane. I try to meet his gaze. When he finally lowers his eyes to me, I can see the fire blazing there. I need to get this under control, and fast. The last thing I need is my brother going off his head at another club’s VP. Not that I think the Devils would hurt Logan, but they’d sure as hell protect Dane, and if Lo got in the way of that… well, let’s just keep it from coming to that.
When I’m sure he’s going to stay put and not rush off in anger, I sign, “He’s not the bad guy here, Lo.”
I watch as my brother takes a step back from me and I ignore how much that cuts through me. I can tell he’s trying to keep hold of his temper, to stop from exploding at me when he tears his fingers through his hair. I can see the stress in every line of his body.